


Delusional Dreams

by ForeverSecrets



Series: Stages of Time [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate - Freeform, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-03-09 22:32:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18926287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverSecrets/pseuds/ForeverSecrets
Summary: Some say high school is the worst experience of your life. Others say it the greatest four years of their lives. Some say it never ends while others same it ended before they even graduated.Riley Rhodes believes all of the above statements are true.





	1. Bunting Into the New School Year

Summer had been kind to me and I knew what that meant when I went back to school today. Junior year was bound to be full of assholes commenting on my fully developed figure whether I hid it or not. I took a deep breath and removed my key from the ignition.

“You can do this Riley.”

I got out of my beat up truck and locked the door, tossed my keys in my shoulder bag and felt the rough grasp of someone groping my ass. I swung around and punched the prick in the throat and his hands shot up to grasp his neck as if that would relieve the pain. I turned and headed to my locker not turning to look back.

“Riley!” I let my foul mood evaporate as I recognized the voice of a close friend. I turned around to see Meg Turney running in my direction. She’d dyed her hair again but she never failed to look amazing. She hugged me tightly and started to open her own locker beside mine.

“What do you have first period?” she asked me.

“A.P. Physics, you?”

“English,” she pulled out her English book and then turned on me quickly with excitement. “I think Ryan is in that class.”

“No Meg.” I growled pulling out my physics book. I’d had a crush on the blue eyes boy freshmen year but after two years of being invisible to him and his group of friends I had given up. I was amazed Meg had even noticed me but with my friendship with Meg not even her boyfriend from that crowd acknowledged my existence.

“Oh come off it he is the last of his group of friends who is still single.”

“He can stay that way for all I care. Just because I have an ass and boobs now doesn’t mean I am going to ignore the way I was treated freshman and sophomore year.”

“Get over yourself, Riley.” she swatted my ass and headed off to her first period. I shut my locker and headed the opposite way, every time Meg mentioned Ryan Haywood I started to think about the could be’s and what if’s and I refused to do that this time.

I entered my physics class and sat down and the lab station closest to the board, I was wearing contacts but they irritate the hell out of my eyes so I wanted to be close in case my eyes were acting up. I knew Ms. Durrin well enough to know she rarely enforced a seating arrangement, she grasped what so few teachers did-if students wanted to talk you weren’t going to be able to stop them, period. I pulled out my notebook and waited for the rest of the class to pile in as we could start the day.

I wasn’t surprised Meg had been correct when Ryan walked in, with several open seats I assumed he’d choose one near the door but he looked over at me and a smile spread to his lips. What surprised me was when he made a beeline to the open chair beside me, instantly I began panicking and looking around for the lab station with only one open seat I could slide into but he was quicker than me.

“Riley, right?” he set his book down and plopped right beside me. “Meg said you needed a lab partner and promised me you good at this stuff.”

“I’m not going to let you copy off me,” I said.

"I don't intend to." he looked confused maybe insulted but I said nothing in return as class started.

While it was the first day of classes and teachers tended to spend it with introductions and breaking down the syllabus, I kept hoping one day they would just jump right into the learning part. Well, at least where my science classes were concerned. Science was my favorite subject followed by History and English, but I absolutely despised math.

"You and your lab partner have the entire semester to study and apply potential and kinetic energy in the form of building a rollercoaster."

No one was really surprised by this, we'd watched kids struggle to carry the project for the past two years. But I was forced to accept that everyone around me was conspiring against me. Because he sat next to me, he would be my partner until next semester.

When the bell rang I was the first one at the door, usual for me but I was already typing away on my phone furiously. Scolding Meg and voicing my displeasure at her meddling. I should have been paying better attention to where I was walking because I nearly ran into a blonde girl entering my English class.

"I'm so sorry!" I said, catching her before she could fall over.

"No problem, I wasn't watching either." She smiled but I was caught up in her accent. First, we'd got a bit and now an Australian?

"I'm Riley Rhodes." I held my hand out to her and we shook hands.

"Kati - '' she was cut off by a hand being placed on her shoulder. I recognized Jack Pattillo immediately and started retreating quickly.

"Nice to meet you." then I slipped into the classroom, I nearly groaned.

Almost all of the hunters' girlfriends appeared to be in this class. I saw Lindsey off to the side, Kat near the window, and Geoff's girlfriend, Devin near the back. This was going to be a long school year.

My foul mood quickly evaporated as the end of the day approached and I could vent out my frustrations in a healthy way. Normally I loved Chemistry but my eyes were glued to the wall clock as I watched the hands tick ever closer. My favorite teacher, Mr. Jefferson was also the JV softball coach and we were having our first practice right after school After a summer full of drills, dieting, and weighting lifting it was going to feel so nice to have my mit back in my hand. The bell rang and I shot up out of my chair heading to the front of the classroom to tease Mr. Jefferson.

“Can’t keep us off the field today coach.” outside of class he was just coach and we had developed a battle of sass and wit earlier on in our meeting.

“I can try, or I could just make you run all practice long.”

I groaned, he knew how much I hated running, I would do anything else all day as long as I could avoid running. I pulled my ball cap out of my gear bag and waved it at him as I headed to the girl's locker room to get dressed for practice. On my way there I saw Lindsay and her boyfriend Michael talking near the door, she was already in her gear. I overheard enough to make me dread practice for the first time ever, the Hunter’s would be in the stands watching.

“Rhodes! Warm up that arm, your pitching first.” coach instructed me as we finished warming up. Lindsay came over to me in her catcher's gear and smiled, she and I were often paired together as finishers for the games but we didn’t talk outside the field.

“Did you have a good summer?” she tried to make friendly conversation as we headed towards the grass field near the dugout.

“Yeah, you?”

“Yeah, I was pretty busy.” I could tell she wanted to ask me something so I begrudgingly encouraged her with a forced smile. “Are you seeing someone? It’s just we’ve been on the same team for three years now and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you spend time with anyone, not on the team.”

“I spend time with the science team.”

“You're the president you don’t really have a choice.” she laughed.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Do you want one?”

She squatted down as I got into position a fair distance away from her. I was familiar with her talking while we warmed up, over time it had become a way to relax me when the stress of the game got to me but now I just wanted silence. I took a deep breath, wound up, and released the ball a little wonky. Lindsay had to lung to the left to catch it but she did.

"Honestly? No, if it happens, great if not I don't care. I did, our first two years of high school but I'm over it now."

She threw the ball back and I tossed it into my glove a couple of times before repositioning. I focused on the center of her glove, wound up and tosses again, this time it was straighter. Not perfect but that was the purpose of warming up.

"The first day of school has pegged you as the hottest single girl in the junior class." Lindsay pulled off the mask and jumped to catch the ball I had thrown straight up instead of towards her mit. She caught it and smirked at me.

"I was wearing jeans and a loose t-shirt."

"It would more than that to hide your gifts."

"It doesn't matter if they didn't notice me before that's their fault."

"Oh please, you're being stupid. So you're saying you will never date someone who thinks your attractive?" She dropped the ball into my glove.

"We need to warm up," I grumbled and tried to push the topic off my mind.

While I was firm in my belief, I couldn't help but trying to make myself look attractive as practice progressed. It wasn't until I was in their mound picturing to my teammates that I realized what I'd been doing and forced myself to stop.

"Come on, Rhodes! You're better than that!" The co-coach Mrs. Jefferson yelled at me.

I looked to the stands and saw the girl I'd meet today leaving against Jack and smiling warmly in my direction, and just beside her was Ryan watching me. I didn't want to mess up now, I wanted him to think I was a great pitcher so I focused.

A perfect fastball straight down the middle and the batter swung. The crack of ball and bat was a homeless melody in my ear as we sprang to action. Shortstop field the ball, tossing in the second base to keep the runner at first and second base returned the ball to me.

"There's our Rhodes!" Mr. Jefferson clapped but the approval I was unknowingly looking for was in the stands.

The rest of practice went by smoothly and I waited until all the others had left before approaching the coach.

"Can I get in some extra batting practice?"

"Riley, you need to be a teen and stop pushing yourself so hard. Drive is a good thing but too much of anything will kill you." Mr. Jefferson sighed.

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down, I didn't say anything he was right. I was supposed to enjoy this time but I was only concerned with making myself appealing to scouts and colleges.

"Is everything okay at home, Riley?" Mrs. Jefferson placed a kind hand on my shoulder.

"Riley if your father is the reason-" Mr. Jefferson started.

"Coach I'm fine," I laughed. "Just like every other girl in America I have Daddy issues, and by that I mean I hate mine but I promise I just want to get in some extra practice because I don't feel like I was performing my best at practice."

"Oh we noticed and he did too." She laughed and her husband smiled nodding.

*He who?" I snapped.

"Oh, no need to be defensive, you're a teenager, you practically breathe hormones. He's cute and from what Mr. Jefferson tells me he is a good student."

"But i-"

"Just remember the rule. There is no boyfriend's in softball," he clapped me on the should and we all started walking towards the parking lot. "But no extra practice tonight, I have places to be which means to need to go home or go out."

"You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." Mrs. Jefferson smiled.

They practically forced me into my car, the confined space made me realize how sweats and stinky I'd become. I guess going home and showering would be best.


	2. You Can Take The Girl Off The Field But ...

"Mom, have you seen my jeans?"

 

"They are in the wash!" She called back from the kitchen. 

 

I ruffled through my drawers again trying to find some to wear so I wouldn't have to wear a dress or a skirt. Luck wasn't on my side, this weekend had been busy so laundry didn't get done. My choices were a yellow sundress it plaid shirt, the dress won since I didn't have a shirt to match the skirt.

 

Typically I didn't mind wearing dresses, they made me feel me feel feminine but now that I knew people were watching I wanted to cover as much as I could. I came down the stairs and found mom making coffee in the kitchen and a found dollar bill in the counter.

 

"I haven't gone shopping, is that enough for your lunch?"

 

"It's cool mom, the coach has me on a special diet. I can't eat before practice." I shoved the five back in her purse and kissed her goodbye. 

 

Money was always tight for her but my asshole of a dad had set me up with a debit card linked to his account so I never hurt for money. My mother having primary custody of me felt it was her responsibility to do everything but when I could I would ease her burdens. 

 

I got to school earlier than usual to meet with Ms. Durrin to discuss the schedule and advertising of the science club. Last year, after our competition in May, I had been elected President by those who weren't seniors graduating. 

  
  


As I was heading towards her classroom I saw Ryan coming out of the theater. I knew he was a thespian but I also knew the theater teacher didn't arrive until classes started.  My best guess was the hunters were in a mood and placed a prank in there. I kept walking, ignoring what I saw. I'd learned really early the only was then being the wrongdoer was being a witness. 

 

I found a welcome distraction in discussing the future of the science team with Ms. Durrin. Our plans were promising but needed to recruit freshmen so I texted the club secretary to have an announcement made during the morning messages.

  
  
  


The softball season looked promising, the science team was in order, and my classes were shaping up to be challenging in a fun way.  The only downside was all the couples around, it made it harder to convince myself I was happy being single.

 

The first month of school I got closer to Cati, she turned out to be really kind. Lindsay was still an enigma to me though, she seemed friendly but I sensed some underlining manipulation. I also sensed sincerity when we interacted but figured out she and Meg were playing matchmaker. As time went on I stopped denying it.

 

"Who are you going to ask to Sadie's?" Meg asked me.

 

I had completed forgotten about the Girl-Ask-Guy dance. I didn't want to go but it was necessary to complete the "high school experience." Then again I could always skip this year and go senior year.

 

"I'm not going."

 

"You have to!" I hadn't even noticed Cati joining us at the lunch table. "Please? You don't need a date."

 

"Fine." I conceded but I saw the displeasure on Meg's face. She wanted me to ask Ryan and I accepted I wanted to as well. "I have to go."

 

I didn't give the girls a chance to respond, I got up in search of Ryan. Most high school relationships didn’t last past the college maybe I needed to start acting like a high school student. I was jogging towards the courtyard where I suspected they were causing a ruckus. Sure enough, I found Michael sitting on Gavin’s back pinning him to the ground while several of the others were shouting at them. Ryan was just watching though, no one was paying attention to him, my perfect opportunity to pull him to the side.

 

“Hey, Ryan?” I snuck up on him and he jumped a little before giving me a smile.

 

“Hi, did you come to watch the show?”

 

“Actually I came because … because …” my bravery was quickly fading now that I was face to face with him. I didn’t realize how much I feared rejection, the fear was making it almost impossible. Memories of Meg’s years of encouragement motivated me to get it over with fast. “Saides with me?” I asked and then felt like an idiot, completely forgetting grammar. 

 

He stared at me with absolutely no expression and he said nothing. His hesitation crushed me and my fears were realized. Before I let the rejection showed across my face or I dug my grave further I ran. Like a stupid idiot, I ran even though I would have to face him Monday morning in the first period. I was going to avoid reality as long as I could. 

 

Meg and Cati caught me bolting towards my car and followed, not catching up until I had my key in the lock. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Meg asked. 

 

“I asked Ryan to Sadies and ran away when he didn’t say anything.”

 

“You did what?” both of them broke out into wide smiles.

 

“You need to go talk to him,” Cati said.

 

“No, what I need to do is take the rest of the day off.”

 

“And skip softball practice?” Meg taunted. 

 

“Yes.”

 

“Oh shit, it was that bad?” they both got serious all of a sudden. “But Ryan is interested in you, there’s no way he’d say no.”

 

“He didn’t say no, just stared at me while he tried to think of a nice way to let me down.”

 

“Now you’re just making assumptions.” Cati sighed. 

 

“You weren’t there and now I need to not be here,” I unlocked my car, threw my bag to the passenger side and turned to say goodbye to them and saw Ryan walking in our direction. “Move bitches I’m leaving.”

 

They started to protest but I had started my engine and they moved out of my way. I peeled out of the parking lot leaving Ryan standing with Cati and Meg near my now empty parking stall. 


	3. Don't Be A Snob

First period Monday morning came too quickly. There was no getting out of it, I would have to face him sooner or later. All I could hope he wouldn't bring it up. I didn't make it to the classroom, Meg and Cati stopped me in route.

 

"You really disappeared all weekend." Cati started.

 

"No one has seen a heard from you since lunch on Friday. If you'd answered your fucking phone when I called you'd realize you had no reason to freak out." Meg scolded.

 

"After you drove off Ryan told us what happened. You didn't give him a chance to answer before you panicked." Cati looked sympathetic but both her and Meg had the luxury of already knowing their partners would say yes without even asking the question.

 

"Whatever, I don't want to go to the dance."

 

"But I was going to say yes." I turned around to see Ryan smiling and then I heard the girls giggling behind me. 

 

"I uh…"

 

"I'll pick you up at seven?" he asked holding money out to me. 

 

"What's this for?" I asked coming out of my shock, I could dwell in it later.

 

"The tickets."

 

"No," I pushed the money back to him. "It's the girl ask guy dance which means I will pay for both of us. I will pick you up at seven and I will buy you dinner."

 

"Well you know how to spoil guy," he said it with a girly accent and it made me genuinely smile. He put the money back in his wallet and headed towards the lockers. "I will see you in class. Meg, Cati." He nodded to them and to off.

 

"Wow, Riley." Meg purred.

 

I leaned against the wall trying to calm my excitement enough to get through the day. I had convinced myself I didn't care about dating or Ryan Haywood so well that I'd believed it until now. Reality hit me in the face like a joyous cloud and I didn't want to think about all the things that could go wrong.

 

"I'm impressed. Not only did you get the guy, but you also laid down the law." Cati laughed.

 

"I didn't get the guy, it's just a dance," I said softly but my own words did nothing to bring down my happiness.

 

"Oh please, we will see what tune your singing Saturday," Meg said.

 

"Oh God! I don't have a dress, I don't even know what the theme is this year."

 

"It's Disney themed, Jack and I are doing a modern take on Megara and Hercules."

 

"Gav and I are Ariel and Eric."

 

"Should I … coordinate with Ryan."

 

"No, he will coordinate with you. What time does practice end today? We can take you to the mall and find something."

 

"5:30." 

 

"Perfect, see you then." Meg took off.

 

"Ugh, I hate shopping." I rested my head in Cati's shoulder.

 

"But Meg is good at it, it won't take long."

 

The bell rang and we went our separate ways. When I walked into class Ryan was looking equal amounts cocky and nervous. At least he didn't have to go shopping.

 

Shopping turned out to be not so bad, Meg found me something comfortable and practical. And it was a Disney duo that wouldn't make things too weird with Ryan. The three of us sat down with pizza at the food court to talk before I dropped them off at home.

 

"I still wish you would have let us do Jessica and Roger Rabbit." Meg pouted.

 

"You just want to see Ryan dresses all dorky " I accused.

 

"You did look good in that dress," Cati noted 

 

"It was skin tight, the slit practically went to my crotch and the too barely hid my nipples," I argued.

 

"I like the Kim Possible-Ron Stoppable pairing, it's smart considering this will be your first date," Cati said being reasonable.

 

"I don't know how many people will catch in, a powder blue dress isn't her most notable look." 

 

"Doesn't matter, now we need to talk about conversation topics for the night, how you need to act and behave." Meg pulled out a checklist with things she needed to remind me.

 

"Meg I'm not going full girl mode. I'm going to be me and if he wants all that stuff he can go find someone else."

 

They both gave me a proud but worried look before we resumed our meal. Was dating really so difficult that Meg had a full page of things she'd wanted to tell me?

 

"You don't have to, but what are you going to talk about all night?" Meg asked.

 

I stared at them, I hadn't thought about it. I started to get up from my seat to return everything we just bought but they pulled me back down.

 

"Thankfully Ryan is better at conversation than you,'' Meg said.

 

"Do you think he will be too nervous?" Cati asked.

 

"He's usually pretty good about hiding his feelings."

 

I just watched they talked back and forth. I wouldd lookup conversation starters when I got home and hope that works. I could talk for hours about softball but as far as I knew Ryan didn't care for sports. There was science and we are lab partners but I didn't want to be the boring teachers' pet.  

 

"Ry, you will be fine." Cati placed a soft hand on my arm.

 

"Oh God! We need new nicknames." Meg threw her arms up. "We can't can them both Ry!"

 

"Good luck with that, we don't have very many syllables." I laughed. My phone went off, a reminder to study for a quiz in history popped up. "Alright time to go, I need to study." 

 

"You go ahead." Cati waved me off.

 

"Don't you guys need a ride? I drove."

 

"It's okay, Jack just got a new car and has been looking for an excuse to drive." Cati's cheeks tinted slightly. He made her happy and if I let him, maybe Ryan could do the same for me.


	4. The start of Something

"Stop checking the time!" Meg scolded me. Her and Cati had come to my house to get ready for tonight. They had both helped me get ready sonar I was just watching them do their hair and makeup.

 

"I don't want to be late picking him up, I told him I'd be here at seven."

 

"It's only five and he just lives, like fifteen minutes from here?" Cati said eyeliner in her hands posed likes was about to write an essay.

 

"Besides the dance doesn't start until eight." Meg pointed out.

 

"I'm just anxious and nervous."

 

“You’ll be fine.” they smiled and continued with their makeup. I played with my phone, fiddled with my hair and makeup trying to distract myself until the time finally came. 

 

He was waiting for me when I pulled up, I didn’t even get a chance to get out of the car before he was getting into the passenger seat. He was dressed suit that matched my dress so I assumed Meg had helped him. 

 

“Hi,” I could feel my cheeks heating up. “You look really nice.”

 

“Thanks, you do too.”

 

An awkward silence fell over us as I drove towards the school for our dance. I kept trying to think of conversation topics but I was coming up short, he seemed to be looking for something to talk about to too. His phone buzzed and I tried not to let my anxiety rise any higher when he started tapping away at his screen. 

 

“I know you don’t get a lot of free time but Meg said you occasionally play video games, what kind?”

 

“Mostly RPG’s and FPS, but I branch out every now and again,” I started to get really excited. “My favorite is Borderlands 2.”

 

“That’s one of Jeremy’s favorites.”

 

Video games completely dissipated the awkwardness, by the time we walked into the dance we were laughing and debating theory and lore of games. I was caught in deep laughter when my eyes locked with Meg and Cati smiling across the dance floor from Ryan and I. 

 

“Do you want to dance?” Ryan asked once our laughter died down. 

 

“Oh, um I don’t know how to.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll lead.”

 

Turns out he couldn’t really dance either, at least that's what I thought until a slow song came on. I was surprised how much fun I ended up having and Ryan turned out to be better than I thought he would be. He actually seemed invested in the things I said, he didn’t seem to be pretending in the slightest. 

 

“Can I cut in?” I was resting my head on Ryan’s shoulder as we swayed back and forth when Meg pulled me away from Ryan. It made me feel good when Ryan looked disappointed but I didn’t have much time to think about as Meg started dancing with me. 

 

“What did you do? You were so nervous, I thought you’d be a wallflower all night but your actually having fun.”

 

“Thank you, Meg.” I said knowingly. 

 

“What did I do?”

 

“You texted Ryan conversation topics.”

 

“You were both so worried about tonight and I knew you weren’t going to make the first step.” 

 

I pulled her into a hug. “You’re a great friend.”

 

“Alright give her back.” I pulled away from Meg and turned to smile at Ryan.

 

This could work.


	5. Like Lego Pieces

“Riley,” I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep against Ryan’s chest until he nudged me. “We should call it a night.”

 

“But-”

 

“Riley you were snoring.” he laughed. 

 

“I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, your exhausted. Practice really kicked your butt today.” he laughed and kissed my forehead. We had been together for three weeks now and every day was better than the last but it was beginning to run me thin. Between school, softball, science club, and my new relationship I hardly had any time for homework or rest. 

 

“You know you don’t have to come to our practices, right?” I smiled at him. 

 

“Michael likes going.” he shrugged.

 

“Why?” I laughed. “Every time I look at you guys you playing your switch.”

 

“No offense but it's rather boring.” 

 

I gave him a look that told him he’d just proved my point and he laughed. I sat up, distancing myself from his chest that had been my pillow and found the movie we’d been watching was nearly over. 

 

“Well the movies almost over anyway, should we grab dinner before you drop me off at home?” I asked as I stretched out my muscles. 

 

“What are you in the mood for?” He turned off the television and looked at his watch to see what time it was, a lot of places closed early on Sundays. 

 

“Taco Bell?”

 

“Okay, I’m going to let my parents know and grab the keys.” he stood.

 

“I’m going to run to the bathroom and I will meet you in the car.” 

 

I thought not many people would be at Taco Bell at 9:30 pm on a Sunday but when we walked inside I saw a familiar face sitting with a pretty blonde girl. Ryan said he’d order for me while I found us a table but I stopped by to say hi.

 

“Hey Miles! Long time no see.” he looked up at me and smiled before jumping up to wrap me in a hug.

 

“Riley! Hey!” we broke apart and I held my hand out to the girl he was here with.

 

“Hi, I’m Riley. An old friend of Miles.”

 

“Ellie, I’m-”

 

“My girlfriend,” Miles said proudly.

 

“It's nice to meet you.”

 

“You as well, Miles has told me a lot about you,” Ellie said kindly.

 

“All lies,” I joked. 

 

“So how have you been, Ry?” Miles asked as he sat back down.

 

“Busy, I didn’t think junior year would be so stressful.” 

 

“Did you find a table?” I turned around to see Ryan behind me with our food and drinks.

 

“Join us?” Ellie offered.

 

“Oh that’s okay-”

 

“Come on Ry.” Miles practically pushed me into one of the empty chairs while Ryan sat beside me hesitantly. 

 

“Miles, Ellie, this is my boyfriend, Ryan. Ryan this is Mile, he used to live across the street from me and this is Ellie.”

 

“Nice to meet you.” Ryan gave them a quick smile before he sorted out our food. 

 

“So Ellie, what school do you go to?” I asked her.

 

“Teeth Tech High, same as Miles. Where do you attend school?” 

 

“Ryan and I go to Hunter High.”

 

It was nice chatting with Miles, I hadn’t talked to him in a couple of years. Going to different high schools had meant our friendship had become distant and strained. I was glad to see he was doing good and his girlfriend seemed like a perfect match for him. About 10:00 pm we said our goodbyes and Ryan drove me home. 

 

“This week is going to be really rough, I don’t think I’m going to have any spare time. There’s a science competition tomorrow night, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I have practice followed by weight training, then a test on Friday.”

 

“And I’m busy this weekend.” This week was really going to suck. “But our lunch periods are free and we can talk before bed.” 

 

“So I guess you won’t be coming to our fundraiser tournament this weekend?”

 

“I wish I could but I have a family thing.” 

 

“Right, cause you love softball.” I joked. “I will see you at school tomorrow.” I gave him a quick, goodnight kiss on the lips and hopped out of his car. He waited until I was closing the car door to drive away. 

 

I passed out the moment my head hit the pillow, surprisingly. I usually couldn’t fall asleep until I knew Ryan made it home safely but exhaustion pulled me under. I had been right about the busy week. I only saw Ryan during our lunch hour but even then we weren’t alone, we were surrounded by our friends and their partners. But I was thankful for the little time we had just sitting and talking. 

 

Our relationship also brought me closer to Lindsay, it was nice to discuss sports with someone and she felt the same. It didn’t seem like the guys in our circle didn’t care much for sports which were a refreshing change than what I was used to. 

 

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this murder week!” Lindsay groaned as we sat down in the courtyard with our lunch.

 

“Two more days.” I smirked at her.

 

“Eh haha,” she laughed sarcastically. 

 

“We are only a day in.” I laughed.

 

“How are you not sore?”

 

“Oh I am but some icy hot and a few more days and we will be good to go.” 

 

“I swear you're a robot.” 

 

“That would explain why Rye is so into her.” Geoff laughed. 

 

“We need to find new nicknames for them,” Meg said sitting down next to me. “And I gave Riley the nickname Ry before I met Ryan.” 

 

“There aren’t many syllables to work with.” Jack pointed out. 

 

“Well, you guys work on that.” I laughed drinking water. 

 

“What’s wrong with just using our names?” Ryan asked. 

 

“Psh!” Cati waved him off. 

 

“Hang on! Can we get back to me being a robot?!” 

 

“You are! If I’d know that I would have stolen you a long time ago.” Ryan joked. 

 

“Alright assholes, I can prove I’m not this weekend when I sweat my ass off on the field.”


	6. Just for the Hell of It

I entered the locker room with both earbuds in to relax before the game. The coach had accidentally let it slip that college scouts would be here, including a scout from the University of Oregon which was my number two school. My number two was Berkeley but as far as I was aware they hadn’t sent any representatives today. I opened one of the lockers and set my bag down on the bench behind me to start getting dressed when I was roughly pushed. I ripped out my earbuds and turned around to see Lindsay behind me looking confused. 

 

“Huh?”

 

“Are you okay? You’re never this zoned out like this.” Lindsay asked opening her own locker. 

 

“I’m just nervous.”

 

“You’ve never been nervous, you are the most chill pitcher I’ve ever met.” she brushed off and started undressing. I threw my earbuds and phone into my bag to do the same. 

 

“My future has never been at risk.”

 

“Don’t be overdramatic.” she laughed putting her jersey on as I pulled on my softball pants. 

 

“The scout from Oregon State is here!” I said tossing one of my batting gloves at her.

 

“I thought you wanted to go to school in California?” She pulled up her neon on green socks. Say what you will about our school mascot being basically a bag of trash our black and green school colors were pretty awesome. I pulled on my jersey and smiled down and the black six underneath the words Hunter High. 

 

“You can’t leave all your eggs in one basket, you have your top three that you want but probably won’t get then you have three schools you know you’ll get into.”

 

Lindsay stood fully dressed in our home uniform, black softball pants, green jersey, and socks, writing in black our away uniform was just the reverse. I was standing in just my pants, socks and sports bra. I was holding my jersey ready to put it on but I sat down on the bench a smile forming on my lips. 

 

“I never apologized for being an ass when you were just trying to help me with Ryan.” 

 

“No sweat, we weren’t that close, I should have had Meg do it.” 

 

“I wouldn’t have listened to anyone.” 

 

“Five Minutes!” coach banged on the door outside.

 

“I’ll see you out there.” Lindsay patted me on the shoulder and headed out of the locker room with her gear. 

 

I finished getting dressed and went to place all my belongings in the locker when I noticed a text from Ryan. He wished me luck and told me not to stress. I locked everything up, grabbed my gear and headed to the field with a wide smile on my face. Lindsay gave me a knowing look as we began our stretches. I noticed the rest of Ryan’s friends in the crowd as usual but he was absent as I knew he would be. 

 

“Rhodes, Jones start warming up. Everyone else two laps around the field.” Coach instructed as the team we’d been playing against filled the visitors' dugout. Lindsay and I broke off from the rest of the group and started getting ready. 

 

I tried to center myself like I always had but I was nervous and it showed, Mr. Jefferson stopped us and called Lindsay and me into our own little huddle. Lindsay didn’t seem to care in the slightest about the scouts and I don’t know if she didn’t care or if she already had her college plan figured out. 

 

“I shouldn’t have told you the scouts would be here, that’s my bad. Today isn’t about winning or losing, today is about having fun and raising money. If you mess up no one will care, come the actual season then it will matter, so for now take a deep breath and go have fun. Okay?”

 

“Okay,” I sighed. “Nice speech, how long did you practice that?” I teased coach. He rolled his eyes and tossed me the ball as the umpire called for us to start the game. Surprisingly his speech helped, instead of focusing on being scouted I focused on raising money for the program.

 

Lindsay would sign me a pitch and most of the time I’d agree and throw her exactly what she was asking for but we still ended up going into extra innings. We won the first and second game so we got a by in the tournament while other schools played and I iced my shoulder. I pitched the entire first two games, fourteen innings, and my shoulder was killing me, I never worked it this long. 

 

“Well done Rhodes, how yeah feeling?” Mrs. Jefferson smiled down at me.

 

“Good but I don’t know how much longer I can go,” I confessed.

 

“That’s alright, we have Santiago warming up right now, she will take it from here.”

 

“Thank you.” I practically blurted. Good pitchers were hard to find this year, last year there had been six of us but due to transfers and students moving there was only two me and Santiago. The coaches had begged the girls over the summer to give pitching a try but only one was decent enough to get the full training but even then she preferred to play first base. Matthews was our best first basemen and a subpar pitcher so we tried to avoid moving her to the mound. If I wasn’t pitching I was a third baseman and Santiago was a killer shortstop but the two of us had to be prepared to pitch more than anything. I was usually the opener having been a pitcher since my early softballs days and Santiago was a relief pitcher but Matthews tried her best. 

 

“Do you mind if we bench you next game?” coach asked. 

 

“I would not.” I smiled up at her as she headed over to check on Lindsay who had been just as sore as me if not more so from crouching the whole time. The coaches tried to be as fair as possible, making sure everyone got even playtime but at the end of the day, there was only so much they could do with limited pitchers and the desire to win. 

 

“Ms. Rhodes?” a middle-aged woman stood in front of me with a smile on her face.

 

“Yes?” I asked confused. 

 

“My name is Hillary Batts, I’m from the University of Oregon.” she extended her hand to me and I shifted the ice pack so I could shake her hand. 

 

“Pleased to meet you.”

 

“You lasted for a long time, how long have you been playing?” 

 

“Since I was seven.” 

 

“Your coaches tell me you're interested in my school but you're also looking at Berkley?”

 

“Yes ma’am” I didn’t want to lie, that wasn’t me. “It's better not to put all my eggs in one basket in case things don’t work out.”

 

“That’s smart, have you visited any school yet?”

 

“No, I have a trip planned over the summer to visit several, Oregon is first on the list.” I smiled, my admission also made her smile as well. 

 

“Let me give you my card, I would be happy to give you the tour myself.”

 

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” she shook my hand and said goodbye.

 

“See, no need to be worried,” Lindsay smirked sitting down next to me and let out a groan and as she removed her pads.

 

“Yeah, yeah shut up Jones.” I blushed.

“Scouts want us just as much as we want them.” Lindsay held up a  business card she’d received from someone at the University of Arizona. I waved her off in defeat and then turned excited towards her.

 

“Did you get benched too?” We could binge a little if we weren’t going to be playing anymore today. 

 

“Yep.”

 

“Cool, I'm going to buy us slushies from the concession stand then.”

 

“Your the best.”

 

Sadly our team didn’t win the tournament, we placed third but in the more important ways it felt like we won. I waved Lindsay and our friends' goodbye as they all piled into Meg and Lindsay’s cars. I hopped into my own and texted Ryan the days' results before driving home to pass out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, guys, I need your opinion on something. This story is going to be done in three parts: Delusional Dream (high school), Striving Dreams (college), and Dreams Achieved(everything after). And I already have a couple of chapters written for the second part but it has spoilers. Should I post the work now even though this one isn't finished?


	7. Forgot the Birthday Bow

December was proving to be a busy month, Ryan’s birthday, formal, Christmas, and I would be spending the first few days of winter break with my father and his family. I had no idea what to get Ryan for Christmas but I had a plan for his birthday I was just nervous is all. Nothing a phone call to my best friend wouldn’t fix but I’d rather talk about this in person which is how I ended up with pizza, breadsticks, and soda on my desk and pillows, blankets scattered everywhere. 

 

“Ry!” I heard Meg call from downstairs, I had told her to just walk in when she got here. 

 

“Upstairs!” I called back before sending a quick text to Ryan to let him know Meg had arrived and I would talk to him later. I tossed my phone on my bed just as Meg entered the room in the cutest powder blue onesie and bunny slippers. “Did I miss the adorable memo?”

 

“Shut up!” she shoved me and dropped her bag in front of my closet door. “I brought the worst, cheesiest chick flicks I could but something tells me we aren’t going to be watching them.” 

 

“Why not?” I deflected, suddenly filled with too many emotions, mostly fear and embarrassment to ask her. 

 

“I think I know you well enough to know the difference between casually hanging out and needing to vent or talk hanging out.” 

 

“You know me so well.” I laughed as we plopped down into bean bag chairs.

 

“Riley spit it out,” she ordered.

 

“I just … have questions. You know Ryan’s birthday is coming up and I want to make it special.” 

 

“Oh my god! You-No!” Meg jumped up in excitement before covering her mouth and pondering then turned her joyous eyes on me. “You’re going to give him your virginity.”

 

“How!? How did you get that from the one sentence I said!” I threw a pillow at her in disbelief. 

 

“Because you are one of the smartest people I know and you said you have questions, questions your not comfortable asking your mom, questions you can’t ask Ryan or teachers. What else could it be?”

 

“And you say I’m smart,” I mumbled.

 

“You are, just not in socializing.” She sat back down and smirked at me.

 

“So these questions?”

 

“Don’t make fun of me!” I whined unintentionally. “Ryan’s had sex, I haven’t I don’t want to ruin our first time with my inexperience,” I confessed. 

 

“You can’t be serious?” Meg looked shocked. “He loves you, it won’t make a difference. You’ve been together, what? Six months? It’s about time really.”

 

“Alright enough of that, question one …”

 

***

 

I double checked to make sure I had everything I needed for today. I had demanded Ryan make no lunch plans, I would have him from eleven to two. I had a pizza in the back seat, pillows and blankets littered the bed of my truck. Ryan was currently blindfolded in my passenger seat as we got closer to our destination. 

 

“Come on, just tell me where we are going. You know I hate surprises.”

 

“Shut up, we are almost there and I promise you will like this surprise.” 

 

“Riley,” he growled. “At least let me take this stupid thing off.” he reached up to remove it and I slapped his hand away. 

 

“Stop it, we are here I just need to do one last thing.” 

 

I hopped out of the truck and went around to lead him to the bed of the truck, while he stood at the end of the bed. I climbed up into the truck and began removing my dress and undergarments. I smiled even though there was a small amount of doubt in me.

 

“Ready for your present?” I asked trying to buy myself just a second longer.

 

“Riley this is stupid,” he growled.

 

“We will see if you are singing the same tune when you take the damn blindfold off.” he immediately snatched it from his face and looked at me. When he froze I started to panic but his eyes would begin exploring my exposed flesh before shooting back to my own as if he was doing something wrong.

 

“I don’t …” he wet his lips. “I don’t understand.”

 

“Ryan you are an intelligent man, I think you would know what I’m giving you.” 

 

His eyes finally began soaking up the view I offered, now that he knew he wasn’t going to be reprimanded for it. I couldn’t comprehend the expression on his face but he stared at me for a long while before finally climbing up into the bed of the truck with me. His clothes quickly disappeared and he let me look at him as well but that only made me more concerned. 

 

“Ry, will it hurt?”

 

“I will stop if you ask me, I promise.” he kissed me to seal the promise. I let him take control and contributed where I could. It was uncomfortable at first but Ryan knew exactly what he was doing. He used his fingers to get me ready whispering words of affirmation in my ear as he worked. 

 

It was over faster than I thought it would be and I thought maybe I was no good but Ryan lay beside my smiling and panting. He turned to me and pulled me into his arms, kissing me sweetly before closing his eyes and I followed suit. I didn’t anticipate falling asleep but the clam and a gentle rise of Ryan’s chest lulled me asleep. We both woke up when our phones went off, it was still sunny out but it looked like a storm was coming in. Ryan was getting a call from Jeremy and I was getting a call from Meg. I balanced my phone on my shoulder while I redressed and a quick look to Ryan showed he was doing the same thing.

 

“What’s up, Meg?”

 

“How was it!” she asked as soon as I answered.

 

“Not going into it.”

 

“Aw come on,” she begged.

 

“No Meg.”

 

“Fine, I’ll get it out of you later. For now, you should start heading back to town, a major storm is supposed to hit in an hour.”

 

“On our way.”

 

“Oh, and the guys are doing dinner for Rye but afterward they are going to kick the girls out.”

 

“Got it, bye Meg.”

 

I hung up fully dressed and at the same time Ryan did. I was suddenly worried to talk to him, I loved him and I knew he loved me but a few had told me that sex changes things. 

 

“Time to get to your birthday dinner.”

 

“Riley, are you okay?” he tilted my chin up and forced me to meet his gaze. 

 

“Just … was I okay?” he laughed. And I felt my face fall.

 

“No, Riley I didn’t mean-you were fine.”

 

“But you fell asleep.”

 

“So did you,” he knew me well enough to know I was doubting myself. Rarely happened because I hardly ever did anything I didn’t already know I was good at. “I enjoyed it, best present ever.”

 

“Really?” I smiled up at him.

 

“Yes, next time I will let you take the lead.” he smiled and we got back in my car to head to dinner. He held my hand as he drove. As I sat there I began to realize just how sore our activities had made me, I hoped I wouldn’t give anything away when we got to dinner. 

 

The moment Ryan and I walked into the restaurant and found our friends I became very aware of the way I was walking, my feet slightly turned as to alleviate some of the discomforts but I didn’t l think it was too noticeable. Either Meg had told them where we were or I was walking more off than I thought.

 

“You guys boned!” Geoff shouted as we sat at the table. I shot a glare to Meg who pointed at Gavin.

 

“Not my fault didn’t know he was in the room when I called.” 

 

Questions began flying every which way at us and Ryan was quick to put his foot down. “As it is my birthday I demand we not discuss this.”

 

“That bad?” Jeremy asked. 

 

“Fuck off.” I slapped the back of his head and Ryan glared. That was enough to avoid the topic for the rest of the day. 


End file.
